WMages

This morning, I brought in a colleague's belt for a repair. It is a Kore "Full Grain" Leather belt with a suede liner and is fitted with some type of a ratchet latch/buckle. It only needed restitched around the last few inches which I did straight away. I noticed that where the belt runs through the buckle, the edge had worn just enough you could see the layer edges so I hit it with dye, let that dry and then followed with Gum T for about three coats burninshing to my limited ability. I noticed the edges (belt is four or five years old) looked perfectly pristine almost like they are formed with epoxy or something yet not cracking or wear seen except where it passed through the buckle. My edging looked ok but would never compare to that factory edge. Is there some process where the maker molds those edges. They've sure held up well but are too difficult for me to duplicate. I'm not so much asking how to duplicated it as I am what in tarnation does the maker do to make that gloss slick (after all these years) edge hold up and look so good? TIA.

I'm on the second side now. I actually haven't seen the cut scars transfer to the grain side of the leather yet but then again, I don't often have it on there when wet. Perhaps and easier option might be to buy new when I think it's necessary. But a 4'x8' sheet of this stuff is near $700. I hope one day when room permits, to have a 4x8 work bench surfaced with it. This stuff is great BTW. Thank you to each of you who took the time to respond and share your thoughts and experiences. This forum is invaluable to a rookie at all this like me. There is truly an encyclopedia of knowledge here.

Hi. I have a piece of material that is made from HDPE or a material there abouts, similar to food type cutting boards. It's about an arm spread long and a couple of feet wide and a good inch thick. I keep it on top of one of my work benches and upon it, I cut most of my leather, patterns, punch holes etc. It doesn't seem to have any ill effect on the sharpness of my razor cutters although I strop them numerous times during a cut out etc. Over time, it has picked up accumulated scoring marks from the razor knife. So far I've not noticed it imprinting onto my projects but I know it could especially if the leather is wet. I'm sure someone on here uses a similar board (I think this is some sort of building material that might come in a 4x8 sheet) ever sanded it smooth? It's handy enough, I don't mind spending some time or is it worthwhile and maybe I should replace it? If I were to sand it, what grit sandpaper would be recommended? I have several types of sanders but would probably start just a bit with my belt sander then switch to a smaller Makita handheld. I'm thinking the material is going to be fairly obdurate. Thoughts?

Thanks. I can't ever envision I would want or need even half of the upper end speed when doing leather work. If I make canvas covers or sails, it might be different but that's not at all in my future plans.

Thanks to each of you who responded. Regarding the TIG controller, I never even considered that application in operating sewing machines. I resisted the urge to use my Ohmite (VariAC) to tinker with the speed knowing low voltage would be detrimental to any AC motor but I'm not sure what would happen if a DC Servo motor would do with its mains power looking at lower AC voltage. I've ordered a larger servo motor with almost twice the torque than what what was on the machine when I bought it. If that fails to give me smooth low speed operation, I will order the speed reduction pulleys from the same dealer. At least that's my plan. Thanks all.

Kgg thank you very much for your informative reply.

I just recently picked up a Seiko CW-8B looking to fill couple of niches in my sewing tools and am on a budget. I currently have a CB797 Flatbed that performs very well. I have a Weaver Cub for heavier sewing. (I'm still learning with the Cub). I hope when money permits, to buy a Cobra Class 4. Regarding the Seiko CW-8B: I have it sewing beautifully with 138 thread top and bottom. It's equipped with a servo motor (China made) but its sort of a pita to adjust speeds etc unlike my Cowboy which is quite easy. Although the Seiko will sew slow enough I would like to really slow it down and give it a little more torque to sew up to about 9 or once in a while 10mm of thickness. I would like to find a speed reducer pully set for it and if possible, to order a really good servo motor with a speed reducer together if that's practical. IF it is practical, could someone tell me the best dealer or place to order? Also, I've ordered plenty of correct size bobbins for the Seiko but is there an upgrade where a slightly larger bobbin case can be installed to accommodate slightly larger bobbins? Thanks in advance.

If I dye a holster that has to be sewn before wet molding, will the dye stain my lighter colored thread? If so is there a yaw to prevent this from happening? I normally seal my leather a couple coats before sewing to limit this issue. I'm not sure how to proceed to make a wet form type. Thanks

Hi kgg. Currently, I'm 206 thread on top and bottom, with a 23 needle. I'm sewing on about two thicknesses of 9-10. The machine came (second hand) with larger thread and a #25 needle. Actually, I have had better results. It seems that I needed to let the presser foot lift and the needle in the appropriate upward position. For a hand stitch machine with a rate of one stitch per revolution, things happen pretty quickly. I'm actually getting the hang of guiding the material with only one hand. I think mostly I just need more practice.

I'm a new leather worker who has waded off into the craft more deeply and more suddenly than I had originally intended. After wet molding a Buck folding knife scabbard, my true first project was a basket weave 2" layered Ranger Duty belt to wear late in my career. I was profoundly shocked at how it turned out for my first build. I hand stitched that belt and while I truly love to saddle stitch, I can tell arthritis will become an issue at my age. I next bought a Cowboy 797 and made some belts on it followed by a Weaver Cub. While I've practiced a little with the Cub, I find it a little daunting still and have procrastinated using it on a serious project. But I did find on my first real attempt, when the thread tension fubared, I removed the thread and hand stitched as the stitch holes were perfect. On one more project, I used the Cub without thread just to punch a clean stitch line. This thread is giving me the confidence to see what I can do with it. I know now that if I stay in this craft, and likely will, I will one day step up to Class IV because historically, that's how I progress at things. But it seems other than having a reverse stitch, the Cub should do much of the same tasks as the Class IV at least for the heavy hobby user. I am still having difficulty turning my material 180 degrees to try to back stitch. Even with the needle down and lifting the presser foot, it sometimes seems the thread wants to bind and twist around the needle. I'm not sure back stitching is totally possible and certainly not sure I'm going about it correctly. If I can learn to make that happen, I think this Cub might do about all I need to do with thicker leather.

Hi Dwight. I Primarily carry a Gen 5 Glock 17 (without optics) but periodically carry my Sig p220. I have a couple of leather holsters, that both will fit in with the Glock being the more snug of the two. So it's a pattern for the Glock 17 I'm looking for. I'm going to try to lay one out this morning using Sam Andrews method to measure and put it on a center line but I want to design in a sturdy thumb break. I'm planning on using an body side outer sleeve of leather (similar to how Safariland used to do) to make the belt pass thru and extend that upward to provide a stiffening layer to the snap side of the thumb break. I'm sure looking to learn but a couple of good patterns would give me a leg up. Thanks for responding.

Hi all. I'm a fledgling rookie but have built a Ranger Duty belt 2" Wide and .028 thick to be worn as an outer duty belt. I arrived at leather work due to the inability these days to buy duty rigs in natural, tan, or brown, basket weave leather without having to order custom. I'm having a lot of difficulty in finding a pattern to build a thumb break holster designed for wide duty belts as the pancake style slots don't seem like they would work very well with that heavy and wide of a belt. I'm working on designing my own but I know it will be slow and there are some limitations with the little bit of reverse engineering I've explored. Does anyone have any pattern or template options they would be willing to sell? Thanks in advance.